Before buying a home, you should find out about different aspects related to the property and its pending charges.
Documentation necessary for the purchase of the home in Spain
When going to sign before a notary, there are a series of documents necessary for the purchase of the home that you will have to present at the Notary:
- DNI/CIF or residence card: this document must be carried by all the people involved in the firm, that is both, the buyer and the owner, as well as possible guarantors or representatives.
- Power of attorney: this document is only necessary when a third party acts on behalf of some of the parties involved.
- Last receipt of Goods and Real Estate: this document is only necessary when a third party acts on behalf of some of the parties involved.
- Certificate of the Community Owners: this document serves to corroborate that the home you are going to buy is up to date with the payment of the community bills, and it is essential that the owner have it before the purchase to know if he must assume any spending on it or not.
- Personalized Information Sheet and Binding Offer (FIPER): this European standard document must be given to us by the bank (or sent to the notary) and serves to verify the conditions of the mortgage. Although it is not a mandatory document, it should be signed in case any doubts arise.
- Draft of the deed: in the days prior to the sale, if we want, we can request a draft of the deed of sale at the notary (without legal validity) to verify that everything is correct.
After mentioning the necessary documentation to buy a home, we must also take into account that the documentation varies depending on the type of home you are going to buy: new home, off-plan home, or second-occupancy home.
Documents needed to buy a new home in Spain
When buying a home directly from the developer, it is recommended to have those documents that ensure that we have all the necessary licenses and permits for its occupation. They are the following:
- Building book: As established in Article 7 of the Building Law, it will have to be the promoter who makes this book available to the buyer where the work Project and the modifications already approved appear.
- Certificate of Completion of Work: This document is published by the promoter and this confirms that the building has been built following the plans provided in the building permit. It will also be necessary to verify that it has been registered in the Land Registry.
- First occupation license: The person in charge of publishing this document will be the City Council. In this way, it confirms that the urban regulations are complied with and that, therefore, it can be occupied. In addition, new Homes will have mandatory insurance called decennial insurance.
- Certificate of habitability: This document will have to be signed by an architect or a quantity surveyor. This is to ensure that the home meets the mandatory quality requirements for it to be inhabited. If the home does not have this document, the electricity, water and gas supplies cannot be registered.
- Energy efficiency certificate: Since 2013 it is mandatory that any home that is for sale or for rent has this certificate. It shows the energy rating of the home, which allows us to know the electricity consumption.
- Deposit contract: It is a private contract. The buyer and the seller sign it to commit themselves in this way to carry out the operation taking into account the conditions that have been agreed. It is not mandatory but it is advisable to ensure the sale.
- Sales contract: This contract must include all the details of the operation: the terms, the total price, the form of payment for the property, the date on which the keys are delivered, the penalti in the event that causes a delay.
Documentation needed to buy a home off plan
This means that the purchase of the house is made before it is built, that is, off-plan. It has the advantage that it is usually cheaper and can be paid during its construction. It is convenient that we be careful and take precautions in case the property is not built.
In addition to all the documents that we have mentioned above, it will also be necessary to demand some documentation and make some checks:
- Registration in the Mercantile Registry and in the Property Registry: It is advisable to make a query in the Mercantile Registry to verify if the company exists. On the other hand, it is also advisable to go to the Property Registry to confirm if the building is in the name of the promoter and if it has the necessary licenses.
- Surety bond or insurance policy: We will need to insure the money we have paid for the purchase of the house. This surety bond allows us to recover the money if the house is not built or if the conditions that were agreed upon in the purchase and sale agreement of the house are not met.
On the other hand, the promoter must provide the buyer with the following information:
- Building License, Technical Certificate and Project approved by the City Council.
- Registration of the building in the Land Registry.
- Certificate of the Mercantile Registry that accredits the existence and activity of the company promoting the work.
- Plan for the house.
- Detailed description of the same (useful area, description of the building, etc.).
- Memory of qualities and description of the property.
- Total price of the house.
- Receipt of amounts delivered as guarantee.
Documents necessary for the purchase of a second-occupation home in Spain
In this case, the person who sells us the house will be the former owner, an individual. To certify that everything is fine, we will have to ask you for some more documents:
- The property registry number: It is needed both for the house and for the registry property. This way we will be able to identify the legal owners of the home.
- Nota Simple: Issued by the Property Registry Office that will inform us if the house has a mortgage or some other type of charge or seizure.
- Certificate: In this, the administrator or the president of the community (if any) informs us if the house is up to date with the payments of the quotas or the spills that there could be.
- Energy certificate: This document will be needed for the signing of the deeds of sale to be valid before a notary.
Process and procedures in the purchase of a property
When starting the purchase process, we will have to follow the following steps:
- Reservation or pre-contract: It is a private document between the buyer and the seller that represents the reservation of the house. It is not a mandatory procedure but it has legal validity.
- Deposit contract: This consists of a contract through which the buyer gives the seller an amount in the form of a deposit and that is discounted from the total price of the home.
- Elevation of the contract to Public Deed: This will be by the notary. In this way the notary records the change of owner of the home and all the conditions of sale. After this step, you must pay the ITP (Patrimonial Transfer Tax) during the 30 days following the sale of the property. Its amount depends on the autonomous community and is between 4 and 10% of the value of the property. In addition, the buyer must also bear the notary expenses.
- Registration of the home in the Land Registry.
- Change of ownership of the Cadastre.
- Real Estate Tax: This tax, known as IBI, is an automatic process. The IBI is a municipal tax that you will have to pay annually and its amount depends on each town hall. Some municipalities also have other local property taxes such as the garbage tax.
- Register the supplies.
Depending on the characteristics or type of home that we buy, we will need some documents or others. Although there are always common documents. Most can be found in the commercial register or in the property register.
As the most important documents we highlight the earnest money contract, the deed and the simple note. It is also convenient to follow the process and procedures that we have explained above so as not to make mistakes in the process of buying a home. It is recommended that you have most of this documentation ready before beginning the process.
